Tray



March 17, 1953 E. c. wRlGHT w TRAY Filed June 2, 1950 I INVENTOR.

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w i w W Patented Mar. 17, 1953 TRAY Ernest C. Wright, Trenton, N. J., assignor to Union Bag & Paper Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application une 2, 1950, Serial No. 165,717

4 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) The present invention relates to improvements in trays for shipping containers. More parvticularly it pertains to a new and improved tray or holder for shipping and storing cones of rayon, nylon, yarn or other similar material. i

In shipping or storing cones of such material it is necessary that they be properly separated from each other and from the trays and walls of the shipping container so that the material will not be clamaged by chafing or abrasion. rIfhe present invention achieves that result by providing a tray or holder which retains and supports the cones in separated fixed positions and keeps the material out of contact withthe tray and container, thus completely protecting 'the material from damage and eliminating the need for wrapping the cones.

A further object of this invention is to provide .a tray which` is formed of twol pieces of stock rectangular in shape, can be shipped and stored in unassembled form inflat condition, and is so cut and scored that it can be set up into a vtray ready for use without fastening means, special tools or skilled help. i

Another object of this invention is to provide la trayof the Character stated which is simple in design, rugged in construction, and economical to manufacture.

Other objects of the invention will-in part be obvious and will in part'appear hereinafter.

' The-invention accordingly comprises an article .of manufacture possessing the features, proper- ;ties -and the relation-of elements which willbe exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which Will :j-'

be indicated'in the claims. I

`For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description takenin connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of blank from which the base sheet of the trary is formed; Figura 2 is a view of a portion of the blank of Figure l showing the'rectangular members in abutting position and the connecting strips buckled upwardly; `l Figure 3 is a view of the sheet which overlies the base sheet; 1

Figure 4 is an enlai'ged view of a portion o the sheet of Figura 3; Figure 5 is a sectional view of a yarn cone i held top-and bottom by the supports of the trays of the present invention'; and e -Figure 6 is atop vwf one of the supports.

Referring more particularly to theA drawing there is shown in Figure l a blanh iii from which the base sheet of the tray is formed. It is of one piece construction, scored or creased along certain lines to facilitate folding of the same, and is supplied to the customer in the flat con- (iition shown in this figure. It may be made of corrugated board or other suitable fibrous folding board. This blank is of generally rectangular shape and is die-cut to provide rectangular members li, E2, 3 and l, connected by a plurality of strips i. Further cuts or slots IS are made in the rectangular members along Vlines which are continuations of the sides of the strips 55, so that said strips will be joined to the rectangular members along lines H indented from the edges of the said members. "The blank is scored along said lines ii and along lines IB in the centers of the connecting strips. The strips i may he rectangular or may be tapered slightly along the sides, as shown in Figure 1, such taper serving to facilitate insertion of the strips into the pockets of the upper Sheet, as Will be further described.

En assembling the tray the rectangular members of the blank iii are pushed together so that the inner edges of the members are in abutting position, as shown in Figure 2. This serves to project the strips it upwardly to form triang'ular projections while the members arranged in abutting position provide a base Sheet for the tray. To give the triangulariprojections additional 'strength the corrug'ations of the board for the blank are preferably run lengthwise of' the Vstrips I so that when said strips are buckled upwardly the corrugations will run upward from the base sheet. V

The upper sheet i9 of the tray, shown in Figure 3, is similarly of one piece construction, may

be formed of corrugated board o r other suitable vide a plurality of poclets, so located that they vwill register with the' triangular projections when the upper sheet is placed over the base sheet.

Referring to Figures and 4 such pockets are defined byV circular or similarly shaped score lines 2|, with the area Within each score line divided into a series of triangular tongues 22 by the radiating slits 23. Such score line confofrrns generaliy in size and shape to the inside of the tubes on which the yarn is wound so that the bases of the tongues will constitute a seat for such tube. Although each pocket as shown is provided With slits disposed sixty degrees apart forming six tongues similar in size and Shape, it will be understood that the number size of such tongues may be varied. VJhen the upper sheet is placed over the base sheet and each triangular projection is pressed upward through the corresponding pocket, the triangular tongues are disposed around the projections and are 'cent upward to form raised supports on which the tubes can be seated. The insertion of the projections in the pockets serves to retain the tongues constituting the supports in raised positions and to lock the rectangular members of the blank IB in abutting position.

Although the strips hi which form the projections can be varied in size and be arranged in various positions with respect to the tongues, it has been found advantageous to construct the strips of such a width and length that, when projected upward and surrounded by the pocirets, two opposite tongues will lie against the fiat faces of each projection and the other four tongues will have their points resting substantially against the edges of the said projection, as shown in Figure 6. In this way each tongue of a pocket is similarly raised in an upward projected position and the raised support formed by such tongues is uniform on all sides. It has been `found desirable to dispose these tongues at a slight taper so that the tubes on which the yarn is wound can be easily slipped over the support.

The tray of the present invention in unassembled form consists of 'two sheets which can be shipped and stored in flat condition. rhese sheets are so cut and scored that the tray can be assembled without the use of fastening means, special tools or skilled help. The rectangular members of the blank w are merely pushed together so that the edges are in abutting position, which tends to buckle the connecting strips i upward into triangular projections. While in this position the upper sheet 59 is laid over-the base sheet and pressed downward so that the triangular projections come up through the pockets of the upper sheet. These pockets keep the strips IE projected upward and hold the reotangular members in abutting position. In addition to serving as a looking means for the base sheet, they also reinforce the 'triangular projections.

After the tray has been assembled, it is placed in the bottom of a shipping case or container and the tubes onto which the yarn has been wound are set over the raised tongues constituting the supports so that the inside edge of each tube is seated against the bases of the tongues, as shown in Figure 5. To provide additional support and protection a corresponding tray is inverted and placed over the tubes, the tongues of each support of this top tray likewise extending into the tube. When the cones of yarn are packed in this manner, the yarn is out of contact with the yarn 'of any other cone and with the container and number to hold the tubes rigidly and keep them properly spaced and separated.

Although the tray of the present invention is partcularly advantageous for the shipment and storage of cones of yarn, it may be satisfactorily and efficiently employed for the shipment and storage of any products which may be similarly held and separated. The term "comes" as used herein should be understood to include the other forms of wound yarn packages such as cheeses, spindles, quills, cops, bobbins, tubes, or the like.

Thus it will be seen that the herein disclosed invention provides a new and useful tray which is particularly adapted for the shipment and storage of cones of yarn, which is fabricated from corrugated board, which holds the product in spaced relation and furnishes increased support and protection during the rough handling of shipping, and which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

Since certain changes may be made in the above product anddifferent embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above desecription or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A. shipping tray comprising a base sheet provided with a plurality of triangular projections, and an upper sheet overlying the base sheet provided with a plurality of raised supports to receive the articles to be shipped, said supports being disposed around and held in raised positions by the projections.

2. A shipping tray comprising a base sheet provided with a plurality of projections, and an upper sheet overlying the base sheet, said upper sheet being provided with a plurality of sets of radiating slits with the triangular tongues between the slits bent upward to form raised supports on which the articles to be shipped can be seated, said supports being arranged to register with theprojections so that the said tongues are disposed around and retained in raised positions by the projections.

3. A shipping tray comprising a blank cut and scored to provide a series of rectangular members spaced from each other and av plurality of strips connecting said members along lines indented from the edges of said members, said members being arranged'in abutting position to provide a base sheet, and the strips being buckled i andscored to provide a seriesrof rectangular members spaced from each other and a plurality 6 .I REFERENCES ol'rxn The following references are ot record in the fiie of this patent:

UNITED s'I'A'rEs PATNTS Number Name Date Waller Mar. 18, 1913 Tiemann July 9, 1929 zSykes Dec. 25, 1934 Schwartzberg Feb. 16, 1943 

